Weird Comment

So today I spent an hour sitting at the front desk while our receptionist went to a meeting. On the desk, she has a picture frame with three pictures of her daughter who is in college. While I was sitting there, a director from a different department came to see our VP. As he was walking past the desk he noticed the pictures and asked, "is that your daughter?" Really? Yes, I was 7 when I had her--a medical miracle. Sheesh!

Travis will be coming home for the weekend on the 20th-22nd. He will then be back home for a month starting the 27th. From what I can tell he is enjoying his rotation in South Bend, Indiana. This is his first rotation to be staying by himself, and I can tell he is lonely.

It is finally beginning to warm up here. I think we reached the 70's today. I was talking with one of the men at church on Sunday who has lived here most of his life. He said this is the worst he can remember it being. Apparently, last year by this time we had 16 days above 70; this year we have only had 3. Maybe since this winter has lasted so long it means a very mild winter this year. One can hope!

New Business Venture

Hello Blog Friends and Family,

I know what you are all thinking: two blogs in one week from Erin, are pigs flying? It's true this is not a common occurrence for me, but I am very excited to share a new project that I have taken on. I am now a Mary Kay Independent Consultant!

If you had told me 5 years ago that I would take this on, I would probably have not believed you. This was before I fully tried the products and realized how amazing they are. I have been using the skin care line for only 3 days and have seen positive results.

All this to say, I would love to help you or any of your friends out with their skin care or makeup needs. What's even more exciting is I have my own personal website with information about products and online ordering! Also check out one of my favorite features, the virtual makeover. I have already spent quite a bit of time playing with the different color combinations. Please feel free to visit:

www.marykay.com/erinbodeker

Feel free to contact me with any questions!

Spring...ish?

Well, once again I have fallen off the blog wagon. I need to just set up an alarm that will remind me to update the blog.

The title of this blog refers to the lovely weather we are having up in North Chicago. I truly cannot believe it is almost May. True, it usually takes a little longer for it to warm up here, but this year has been pretty bad. April has been a month of 30-40 degree weather and rain--tons of rain. Believe me, I would have love to have sent it down to Texas to help with all of the fires. Two Mondays ago I woke up to a disgusting blanket of snow on the ground. It was somewhere around 1-2 inches. Needless to say, it put quite a damper on my day. Today I think we actually made it up to 60 with some sunshine...at least for a few hours. It's overcast again and probably in the low 50's. I am so ready to wear my flip-flops and skirts!

Last weekend I flew down to Texas to visit Travis. For the month of April he has been at a program in Kingwood. He and his classmate have been staying at one of the doctor's house (a family friend of his classmate). My first night there we had dinner with the doctor and his wife. We spent some time with Travis's parents on Saturday. We also were able to spend time with some good friends we knew back in College Station, who now live in Kingwood. They have already decided we are moving there. This was my first time visiting Kingwood, and I have to say I would not be opposed to living there. We went to our friends' church on Sunday. I thoroughly enjoy our church in Illinois, but I truly miss being apart of a larger congregation that has more opportunities to get involved. I also was excited to sing a few newer songs in worship. And the weather that weekend was wonderful!!! I told my co-workers that I was not coming back from the trip, and I really, really wanted to stay. I have to keep telling myself, "only one more year, only one more winter."

Travis is traveling this weekend to his next rotation in South Bend, Indiana. Apparently, South Bend is only about 3 hours away, so he will be able to come home on weekends which I am thoroughly excited about. (Hmmm...guess I need to start cleaning the apartment).

Washington DC

I had a wonderful time in DC this weekend. The weather could not have been more gorgeous! When I landed on Friday it was sunny and 79 degrees. Saturday was a little cooler in the low 60's. I'm not fully certain of the area my hotel was in, but I know I was close to the zoo. The recruiting event was not until 2:00 on Saturday, so I got up early that morning (at least early for me) to do some sight seeing. There was a Metro station not far from the hotel which would take me to the mall area to see the monuments. The Metro is located underground, much like the New York subway. The particular station I went to had the longest escalator I have ever seen! We just kept going down. This escalator will come into play again during my day's events.

I was able to spend about 2 hours at the mall area. I forgot how spread out the monuments are--I definitely got a good walk in. I was able to see the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial (which was not there when I came in 8th grade), the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. I was also able to grab a couple of quick pictures of the White House and the Capitol Building.

By the time I had finished visiting each site, I realized I needed to get back to have time to eat and primp for the recruiter fair. When I got back to the station near my hotel (the gigantic, massive escalator), I realized there was only one up escalator working. There was quite a line waiting to get on. I also noticed there was a broken escalator that people were walking up. I decided to take the healthier option and walk--it's just a few stairs, right? Oh my word. I was half way up when my thighs started to burn and I was getting really tired. By the time I reached the top I was breathing as if I had just finished a five mile run. Never again.

The event went well. I was sitting next to a recruiter from the University of Chicago who I got to know very well. I also saw another recruiter from the University of Illinois that I had met at a previous event. Usually when I go to the events I don't know anyone. It was rather enjoyable to see a face I recognized.

Below are a few pictures I took of the monuments:

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone, especially all you Irish lads and lasses. Today was Match Day for the medical school. This is one of my favorite events at the University. This is the day when all medical students find out where there residency will be. Every medical school has Match Day on the same date and at the same time. At our school it is held in the main lobby. It is quite chaotic as staff members stand on the coffee tables, calling out names and handing out the envelopes. If you can't see the action, you definitely know when the students receive their envelopes by the screams of excitement. There are also tears on this day, of joy and of sadness, but the overall feeling is one of excitement. It's exciting for me because I know a handful of the fourth years due to their help interviewing applicants. I made sure to scout out as many of them as possible to congratulate them and find out where they would be headed for the rest of their education.

The month of March seems to be all about travel. Two weekends ago I traveled down to Texas to spend some time with Travis. It was so good to see him and talk in person instead of on the phone. It was such a thrill to step out of the airport into the 70 degree weather. It was not as pleasant on the return trip when I stepped out into 25 degree weather. I made sure to get some Texas food in while I was there. I had one of the best chicken fried steaks I have ever had at Saltgrass. We were also able to find a Freebirds which was so divine. It was so hard to come back, but it is remarkable how fast the time is flying by. I am planning to make another trip down to see him in April.

This weekend I am traveling to Washington, DC. I am going to a recruiting event for the medical school. I haven't been to DC since 8th grade; so I am very excited. Kristi, in case you read this, with this trip, I have been continuously thinking about how we got lost in the massive DC zoo! The event is from 2:00-6:00 on Saturday. I am thinking I will venture out in the morning to see a few sites. I would like to go to one of the museums, but I'm afraid I will be too tempted to skip the event and stay all day! My plan is to go instead to the mall area and visit the monuments. Hopefully, my next blog post will be pictures from my weekend.

Erin Go Bragh!

Happy Anniversary

This past Wednesday was our 3rd anniversary. Because we knew we were going to be apart for this anniversary, we celebrated back in January. I was not expecting to have anything happen on the actual day. While I was in my office talking with one of our recruiters I happened to see our administrative assistant coming down the hallway with a vase of roses. I was completely shocked! Travis had ordered roses to be delivered at my office.

All the ladies in the office commented on how sweet it was. I know secretly they were jealous. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Just to catch everyone up, we all survived the Blizzard of 2011. We received between 18-20 inches of snow. By the next day the roads were plowed, sidewalks were shoveled and it was back to life as usual. I know all you Texas people can't believe that, especially those of you who were stuck at home for 4 days. The past two days the temperature has hit about 40 degrees. It is amazing what above freezing temps and a little sun will do to a whole lot of snow. In certain areas, I can see the grass. Come on Spring!

Travis and I are doing well. It's been two weeks since he left for the start of his 4 months of rotations. He is doing well in Colorado. He is not as busy as he was at his last rotation, but from what I can tell he is apart of more surgeries. We talk every evening before bed. It is a little weird that he is not here for Valentine's Day or our anniversary (Wednesday).

I have been doing my best to stay busy. It's a little hard with the cold and snow. I would like to get involved with some volunteering, but I need to wait until it is warmer. My co-workers have been helping me by inviting me out to different functions. Last week I went with one of my co-workers to watch her daughter's choir perform different Disney songs. This Friday I am going with another co-worker to a battle of the bands/coffee bar event. It should be interesting. In March I am going to Washington DC for a medical school recruiting event, which I am looking forward to.

To end today's post I will share with you one of the conversations I overheard on our interview day (these are both male faculty members):

Interviewer 1: "What is today's date?"
Interviewer 2: "February 14th, Valentine's Day!"
Interviewer 1: "Uh-oh I'm in trouble."

Happy Valentine's Day!

Still Snowing

It's hard to believe spring will come early this year when you are stuck in the middle of one of the worst snowstorms Chicago has seen in years. It is still snowing here and is scheduled to for most of the day. Last night my lights flickered once, and a little later the electricity went completely out for about 10 seconds. Other than that, everything has stayed in tact.

I took a few pictures of the "winter wonderland" outside. This is the most snow I have ever seen!




I don't think I will be going out on the back patio any time soon.


I'm glad our car is safe and warmish in a garage.


I took this picture because of the trees. I have never seen them completely covered in snow.


Hopefully you can see the mound of snow in this picture. This is one of the snow drifts near the apartment.

It will be interesting to see if I go to work tomorrow or not.

The Snow and Wind are Here!

Thankfully the school closed at 2:00 today and will be closed tomorrow as well. When we left at 2:00 it wasn't too bad. The snow was lightly coming down and the wind was fairly normal, at least normal for up here. It has definitely picked up since then. The worst of the storm is suppose to hit after midnight tonight. One of Travis's classmates posted a picture of an entire stop light that blew down in the downtown Chicago area. Sheesh! I tried taking a video of the events outside for everyone to witness. The video doesn't do justice, but enjoy!

Snow Storm 2011?

Travis made it to Greeley, Colorado safe and sound. And probably just in time. We are expecting a rather large system to pass through up here. The snow will start tomorrow afternoon and turn into blizzard conditions Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning. I believe they are anticipating 1 to 2 feet of snow.

We are suppose to have medical school interviews on Wednesday, but we made the decision to cancel those for the safety of the applicants and also because I wouldn't be able to find any faculty to interview them (it's hard enough to find them on a sunny day). I'm hoping the school is closed on Wednesday. Thankfully, I went to the store this weekend and stocked up on food. Now I need to locate the flashlights in case the electricity goes out.

Leaving

Alright, so a catch up on the Bodekers. I promise to get better at updating the blog this year. I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions, but I think this should be one for me.

We had a very wonderful trip back to Texas for Christmas. Thankfully it was not as eventful as last year's trip. We made it there and back without any weather issues. We surprised both of Travis's grandmothers who did not know we would be making it. Travis's new nickname is "the scoundrel" as dictated to him by his grandma. Everyone should feel free to use this name at anytime. My family came up to Lancaster to see us on Christmas Eve day, and we had a great time eating, visiting and opening presents. Each day brought more family members, some of whom I had not meet yet. Here are a couple of pictures with the grandmothers, along side Travis's brother Cody and his wife, and a few of the cousins.





Travis started his first clinical externship this month. He was at the Westside VA in downtown Chicago. He had to be there at 7:00 each morning which meant he would wake up at 4:30 each morning. Luckily, there were 3 other classmates there with him; so they would carpool each day. He has had the opportunity to sit in and help out a little in a couple of surgeries. I believe he said he has seen over 100 patients at this one hospital. He has had a wonderful experience her and truly enjoyed everyone at the facility.

Tomorrow Travis leaves for his next 4 rotations and will be gone from February through May. We are both not looking forward to this time apart. Travis will be driving to Greeley, Colorado. I would ask that everyone please keep him in your prayers. I am hopefully planning to visit him in April while he is in Texas. I will be in the process of finding little hobbies to keep me busy throughout the next four months. It might be time to pick up my knitting and scrap booking again.